MGM-Pathé Communications was an American film production company that operated in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

from 1990 to 1992. The company was founded and controlled by Italian financier

Giancarlo Parretti Giancarlo Parretti (born 23 October 1941) is an Italian financier. In 1989, he took over Cannon Film Group Inc. from Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. Almost immediately, he made plans to take over the storied French studio Pathé, and changed Ca ...

through his purchase and merger of MGM/UA Communications Co. and Pathé Communications (unrelated to the French Pathé studio). The company was overshadowed by Parretti's fraudulent schemes and he found himself ousted from the studio in less than a year.

History

On January 30, 1989, Parretti founded Pathé Entertainment (or Pathé Communications) after purchasing

Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested ...

. Pathé Entertainment was named after the similarly named French studio that Parretti anticipated to purchase. When Parretti had announced his intent to make the purchase, the French government scuttled Parretti's initial bid to buy

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

due to concerns about his character, background, and past dealings.

Alan Ladd Jr. Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. (October 22, 1937 – March 2, 2022) was an American film industry executive and producer. He served as president of 20th Century Fox from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of ''Star Wars''. He later es ...

was appointed as chairman and CEO of Pathé Entertainment. After bids by Parretti to acquire

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...

and

Kings Road Entertainment Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

went nowhere, Parretti set his sights on purchasing MGM/UA. In the mid-1980s, American businessman

Kirk Kerkorian Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverl ...

sold portions of

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

/ UA to

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

. In 1985–86, Kerkorian repurchased

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

and then

, but without the company's film library and

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most ...

lot and film processing labs (entities which had been earlier sold by Ted Turner to

Lorimar Lorimar Productions, Inc., later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Televisio ...

). In 1989, Kerkorian agreed to sell his MGM/UA interests to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n broadcasting company

Qintex Qintex Limited was an Australian financial services company founded in 1975 as Takeovers, Equities & Management Securities (TEAM). It was renamed Qintex Limited and came to prominence in 1986, collapsing five years later in 1991. Its main share ...

after they tendered an offer of $1.5 billion deal to beat out

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

. However, when Qintex was unable to provide a $50 million

letter of credit A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an exp ...

the deal collapsed. Five months after the Qintex deal fell through, Parretti brokered a deal to make the purchase for $1.2 billion, but questions were raised over Parretti's financial acumen. Parretti gained interest from

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

chairman Steve Ross; the company forwarded $125 million to the MGM/UA purchase in exchange for exclusive home video distribution rights to the studio's product.

advanced Parretti $200 million for domestic television rights. Parretti also made deals with

Fininvest Finanziaria d'investimento Fininvest S.p.A., known as Fininvest S.p.A., is an Italian holding company controlled by the Berlusconi family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi. Structure The Fininvest group is co ...

, Sasea (a holding firm controlled by Parretti's business partner Florio Fiorini), and Reteitalia to fund the acquisition (it was later uncovered most of the deals came with certain conditions attached to them, or else were in fact fake deals used to cover money loaned under the table to Parretti from

Crédit Lyonnais The Crédit Lyonnais (, "Lyon Credit ompany) was a major French bank, created in 1863 and absorbed by former rival Crédit Agricole in 2003. Its head office was initially in Lyon but moved to Paris in 1882. In the early years of the 20th cent ...

, his primary banking partner and whose involvement with Parretti's shady activities ran deep). He ultimately received backing from the Dutch branch of Crédit Lyonnais to complete the MGM/UA purchase. He then merged it with his Pathé Communications Group, to form MGM-Pathe Communications Co. in November 1990. Once Parretti took control, he laid off most of the financial staff and offered a major financial role to his daughter Valentina. Soon enough, chaos reigned at MGM. A check to

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...

bounced. The opening of ''

Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American road crime comedy-drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. It stars Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unfores ...

'' was delayed due to lack of funds. The studio owed a

line of credit A line of credit is a credit facility extended by a bank or other financial institution to a government, business or individual customer that enables the customer to draw on the facility when the customer needs funds. A line of credit takes se ...

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

that wasn't paid. Also the studio withdrew financing from the project of the nineth Pink Panther film and

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

sued the studio in the

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the largest single unified trial court in the United States. The ...

. When

Alan Ladd, Jr. Alan Walbridge Ladd Jr. (October 22, 1937 – March 2, 2022) was an American film industry executive and producer. He served as president of 20th Century Fox from 1976 to 1979, during which he approved the production of '' Star Wars''. He later e ...

came aboard, MGM settled out of court with Edwards and Ladd greenlit the film. There were also reports of unpaid laboratory bills, unpaid creditors, and rather eccentric behavior from Parretti. In March 1991, MGM clients took a complaint to Los Angeles lawyer Stephen Chrystie, claiming that they were owed money ($18 million total) that the studio refused to pay. In turn, Chrystie took this issue up to the

U.S. Bankruptcy Court United States bankruptcy courts are courts created under Article I of the United States Constitution. The current system of bankruptcy courts was created by the United States Congress in 1978, effective April 1, 1984. United States bankruptcy c ...

. As it turned out, the studio's situation was dire that

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debtor. ...

was considered. Crédit Lyonnais refused to lend money to MGM any further unless the studio ousted Parretti from his position. Parretti intended to sell off the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

distribution rights of the studio's catalogue so he could collect advance payments to finance the buyout. This included international broadcasting rights to the 007 library at cut-rate prices, leading

Danjaq Danjaq, LLC (formerly Danjaq S.A. and Danjaq, Inc.) is the holding company responsible for the copyright and trademarks to the characters, elements, and other material related to James Bond on screen. It is currently owned and managed by the fami ...

to sue, alleging the licensing violated the ''Bond'' distribution agreements the company made with United Artists in 1962, while denying Danjaq a share of the profits. Ladd, a former President of MGM/UA, was then brought on board as

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of MGM in April 1991, and James Kanter as

chief operating officer A chief operating officer or chief operations officer, also called a COO, is one of the highest-ranking executive positions in an organization, composing part of the "C-suite". The COO is usually the second-in-command at the firm, especially if t ...

. The new change in management helped save the studio from involuntary bankruptcy. Soon after, Ladd and Parretti began engaging in a bitter power struggle. When it became apparent that Parretti was making plans to regain MGM, Crédit Lyonnais seized control of the studio on June 17, 1991. Parretti faced

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

fraud charges in the United States and Europe. On the verge of bankruptcy and failure, Crédit Lyonnais foreclosed in 1992, assigned control of

to a subsidiary, and converted its name back to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

. To no avail, Parretti had demanded that the MGM executive committee sell off certain assets in order to pay down the loan to Crédit Lyonnais so that he could regain control, but the committee declined due to concerns over the price adequacy of the portions of the company Parretti wished sold. On July 26, 1993, Crédit Lyonnais replaced Ladd as CEO by bringing in former

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

executive Frank Mancuso Sr. Mancuso then brought in Michael Marcus to head MGM and former Warner Bros. executive

John Calley John Nicholas Calley (July 8, 1930 – September 13, 2011) was an American film studio executive and producer. He was quite influential during his years at Warner Bros., where he worked from 1968 to 1981, and "produced a film a month, on average, ...

as head of the new United Artists. As part of his exit package Ladd took some of the top properties, including ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

''. After the split,

revived, but

/ UA CI did not. The company remained under control of Crédit Lyonnais Bank until 1996, when it was repurchased by an investment group led by Kirk Kerkorian, who in 1997 also purchased

Orion Pictures Orion Pictures (legal name Orion Releasing, LLC) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Amazon through its Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) subsidiary. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films ...

, thus obtaining rights to 1,900 film titles and 3,000 television episodes and bringing the MGM film archives to more than 5,000 titles at that time.

List of films

* ''

Death Warrant An execution warrant (also called death warrant or black warrant) is a writ that authorizes the execution of a condemned person. An execution warrant is not to be confused with a " license to kill", which operates like an arrest warrant but ...

'' (1990) * ''

Desperate Hours ''Desperate Hours'' is a 1990 American neo-noir action thriller film, and a remake of the 1955 William Wyler crime drama of the same title. Both films are based on the 1954 novel by Joseph Hayes, who also co-wrote the script for this film wi ...

'' (1990) * ''

Quigley Down Under ''Quigley Down Under'' is a 1990 western film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman, and Laura San Giacomo. Plot Matthew Quigley is an American cowboy with a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot accurately a ...

'' (1990) * ''

The Russia House ''The Russia House'' is a spy novel by British writer John le Carré published in 1989. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union. A film ba ...

'' (1990) * ''

Company Business ''Company Business'' is a 1991 action film, written and directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Gene Hackman and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The film follows the exploits of Sam Boyd ( Gene Hackman), a former operative for the CIA who is reactivated ...

'' (1991) * ''

Crooked Hearts ''Crooked Hearts'' is a 1991 American drama film written and directed by Michael Bortman. The film stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Peter Berg, Cindy Pickett, Juliette Lewis, Noah Wyle and Peter Coyote. The film was released on Septe ...

'' (1991) * ''

Delirious Delirious may refer to: * A state of delirium Film and television * Delirious (1991 film), ''Delirious'' (1991 film), an American comedy directed by Tom Mankiewicz, starring John Candy * Delirious (2006 film), ''Delirious'' (2006 film), an Americ ...

'' (1991) * ''

Fires Within ''Fires Within'' is a 1991 film directed by Gillian Armstrong. It stars Jimmy Smits, Greta Scacchi and Vincent D'Onofrio. Plot Set in the Cuban community in Miami, the story revolves around the relationship between Nestor (Smits), a recently rele ...

'' (1991) * ''

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man ''Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man'' is a 1991 American neo-Western biker film starring Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson, with a supporting cast including Chelsea Field, Tom Sizemore, Daniel Baldwin, Giancarlo Esposito, and Vanessa Williams who ...

'' (1991) * ''

The Indian Runner ''The Indian Runner'' is a 1991 crime drama film written and directed by Sean Penn in his directorial debut. Based on Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman", the film depicts the relationship between two brothers who find themselves on oppos ...

'' (1991) * '' Liebestraum'' (1991) * ''

Life Stinks ''Life Stinks'' is a 1991 American comedy film co-written, produced, directed by and starring Mel Brooks. It is one of the few Mel Brooks comedies that is not a parody, nor at any time does the film break the fourth wall. It co-stars Lesley Ann ...

'' (1991) * ''

The Man in the Moon ''The Man in the Moon'' is a 1991 American coming of age drama film. It was the final film directed by Robert Mulligan, from a screenplay written by Jenny Wingfield. It stars Reese Witherspoon in her film debut, Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Em ...

'' (1991) * '' Not Without My Daughter'' (1991) * ''

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

'' (1991) * ''

Shattered Shattered may refer to: Books * ''Shattered'' (Casey book), a 2010 non-fiction book: true-crime account of pregnant mother's murder * ''Shattered'' (Francis novel), a 2000 novel by Dick Francis: glassblower seeks videotape following death of j ...

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1991) * '' Timebomb'' (1991) * ''

CrissCross ''CrissCross'' is a 1992 American drama film directed by Chris Menges and written by Scott Sommer, based on his homonymous novel. It stars Goldie Hawn, Arliss Howard, Keith Carradine, Steve Buscemi, and David Arnott. Plot Divorced mom Tracy ...

'' (1992) * ''

The Cutting Edge ''The Cutting Edge'' is a 1992 American sports-romantic comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and written by Tony Gilroy. The plot is about a wealthy, spoiled figure skater (played by Moira Kelly) who is paired with an injury-sidelined ice ...

'' (1992) * '' Once Upon a Crime'' (1992) * '' The Vagrant'' (1992) * '' Rich in Love'' (1992)

References

External links

* See news sources on talk page {{DEFAULTSORT:MGM-Pathe Communications Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Mass media companies established in 1990 Mass media companies disestablished in 1992 1990 establishments in California 1992 disestablishments in California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films